In the Garden of Frozen Blooms
by sirensoundwave
Summary: The interesting adventures of the Burgess 7 during and after the completion of their supernatural metamorphosis. The little things left out of Winter's Dark Angel or weren't enough of to make a standalone sequel with. Or the one in which most of Burgess, PA suffers from Sunnydale Syndrome. More characters involved than list allows
1. Beware this Pair

First up, Claude and Caleb establish they would probably make Pitch either proud of or avoid them at all costs.

Archive tags from AO3

Rating:Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:Other

Fandom: Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Relationship:Jack Frost/Burgess 7

Characters:

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians),E. Aster Bunnymund,Nicholas St. North,Toothiana,Sanderson Mansnoozie,Pitch Black (Rise Of The Guardians),Burgess 7,Seraphina Pitchiner|Mother Nature,Spring OC,Summer OC,Fall OC,The Man in the Moon (Rise of the Guardians),Assorted OCs that exist mainly for the purpose of causing them mental scarring...

Additional Tags:

Child Death,Assisted Suicide,dark side of childhood,Touch-Starved,Child Abuses,slightly Dark!Jack,Family of Choice,family bonds,Disturbing Fluff,not really sure how to classify these relationships,Other Additional Tags to Be Added,bashing with a purpose,Dark Humor,general creepiness...,slightlyDark!Burgess 7

*gfb*

"Well, this escalated quickly." Caleb stated casually.

"Yep." Claude dug in his left ear with his pinkie, popping the p. "Well quicker than we thought."

Backpacks were flying, kids were screaming like banshees and bouncing around like crazy. At some point, one of the stage lighting rigs had fallen down. Or been pulled down if the rather tipsy looking AV club members dangling from the ropes were any indication.

Teachers tried with little luck to calm the raucous group down. One woman had already been hurled out into the hall when she attempted to separate two groups intent on brawling super smash brothers style.

The Whitmore twins were passively watching an entire auditorium of students going the hell off. And trying to decide what to do about it.

If anything...

...leaning more towards nothing...

"You two! This is your doing, I just know it!" Principal Logan marched up to the pair on stage. The only teens not going ape shit.

"Exactly how did you reach that conclusion sir?" Claude feigned innocence while setting down his guitar. That no one would buy.

"We were just minding our own business when this started." Caleb put on his own faux angel face from behind the drumset.

"Stop that. The two of you are always causing trouble. Strangeness follows you like a lost puppy." He blotted his drenched forehead. The poor man's thin face was nearly as red as his hair. "You were the ones singing that god awful song!"

"What could that possibly have to do with kids swinging from the ceiling and screaming like demons?" They spoke in tandem, repeating a line from said song. Those sweet smiles morphed into ones that chilled the man to the bone. "Certainly nothing you could prove."

"S-see here-" Principal Logan swallowed thickly. He suddenly felt like he may not be the one with much authority in this situation.

"Fire." Both boys pointed to the left. Where the stage curtains were smoking. Another faculty member was stomping on the draperies but it seemed to only agitate the budding flames. Their tone carried such apathy for the potentially lethal development it was alarming.

"Great Scott!"

With that, the older man ran full stop to the fire extinguisher nearby. Emptying the contents in the curtain as well as the guidance counselor's singed khakis. To think this started as a talent show!

*gfb*

Of all the Burgess 7, Caleb and Claude had earned a reputation as inheritors of Jack's more devious (borderline fucking evil) side. The two of them were known to play pranks with a bit more than harmless fun in mind. Icing the middle of a sidewalk for an unsuspecting pedestrian to at worst bruise their butt? No. Try icing the middle step on a flight of stairs so a jerk ends up in traction. Touching car hoods to freeze OIL and GAS lines knowing full well the driver had a deadline or an appointment they can't miss.

But even that pales in comparison to their sense of humor. The two were fans of "wait for it..." set ups that generally did not end well for the person observed. To the point that it alarmed the Guardians. When confronting Jack about it, they really should not have been surprised by his response.

"They're just having fun."

"By really hurting people! The things they do Jack aren't minor pranks someone could laugh about later. They put people in the hospital! They scared a man so bad he had a stroke!" Tooth exclaimed.

"Look, we get that we ain't gonna see 100% eye to eye with what ya and the anklebitters do. Fine. But come on, this is reckless!" Bunny huffed. "At this rate, they're gonna kill somebody."

"What makes you think they haven't already?" Jack tilted his head, so seemingly sincere in his query that the big four were unsure if he really was.

Or just trolling the shit out of them.

Sandy shivered right along with his teammates. Even as the most understanding and level headed of the group, he was stilled disturbed by the implications of either possibility.

*gfb*

Not long after that unnerving get together, his wicked little frost flowers demonstrated their viciousness yet again. The twins caught kid picking on Monty one day.

"Watch it freak. Don't walk where the cool kids walk." Thomas Cryer sneered down at 13 year old Monty who was sprawled on the floor. The much larger boy had pretty much body checked the blonde rushing to class with a model of the Sphinx in his arms. At no point was he anywhere near Cryer's personal space before the little asswipe crossed the hall way and forced him into a row of lockers. 2 other kids with him laughed at their leader's stunt as the group walked away. Because of course egotistical bastards learn to amass an entourage at an early age.

It should come as no suprise that the carefully constructed project did not hold up to being thrown against metal then landing on tile. The clay model shattered like a china plate.

"Oh no!" He bemoaned.

"Monty you okay?" Caleb ran over to help his brother up.

"Yeah, but the Sphinx isn't. Now what do I do? I was already late turning this in. It's a F for sure now."

"Mrs. Hawkins is kinda a hard ass but I'm sure she'll understand." Claude offered. While his twin checked they're little bro over, he carefully gathered the bits of the assignment from the floor.

"Right. She's gonna believe her precious godson is a school bully. She went off the last grown adult who tried to make that freaking boss! I'm screwed."

"Hmm."

Monty got a failing grade on his Egypt assignment. He was upset but not nearly as upset as the twins.

The next day, Cryer and the Cronies were smoking in the bathroom as usual. It was an out of the way restroom in the basement few students had time to reach between classes. Built back in the in the olden days when classes actually happened down there. Before anyone realized mold spores and what not were terrible for the health of developing lungs. It was all but condemned, though the water and electricity were never acually turned off.

"You assholes have some nerve doing that to Monty." Two voices said angrily.

Standing in the doorway were the Whitmore twins. Glaring menacingly at the trio.

"Oh look! The Wonder Twins! Behold their awesome power to talk at the same time!" Cryer mock swooned. "Gonna tell on us? Beat it shortstacks."

"Yeah, this bathroom's for the big leagues." Cronie #1 scoffed.

"Not the peewees." Cronie #2 chimed.

"Wow. That was fucking LAME." Tandem deadpan.

As if they were living in a bad horror movie, the florescent bulbs overhead became strobe lights for ten seconds then cut out entirely. The bullies shrieked in fright seeing the four eerie points of violet light at eye level to where the kids they'd been poking fun at were standing.

A muffled BOOM shook Burgess Middle School shortly after A rotation lunch. Windows rattled, objects fell from their places on shelves and desks. People panicked thinking it was anything from another east coast earthquake to some kind of attack. After everyone freaked and ran screaming out the doors, first responders investigated the smoke coming from the lowest level.

The official explanation went as follows. Methane from the recently unused but improperly maintained sewer pipes leaked into the enclosed space. Being a flammable gas, it was ignited when one one the boys lit his cigarette that day. Resulting in a flash explosion that basically demolished the out of order restroom and broke quite a few bones in all three boys and ruptured the eardrums of one as fallout from the concussive wave. To add to the destruction, a white RAV4 in the back lot had all its windows blown out filled with human waste. How unfortunate for the elderly world history teacher. So youthfully stupid rebellion plus adults dropping the ball equaled one week school break to assess the building's structural integrity. Simple right?

If we ignored the fact that said boys were found screaming their heads off about freaks with white hair and blazing purple eyes.

Oh, and frozen to the floor by gallons of raw sewage.

That part never made it into any written report.

*gfb*

Was that a Nickelback reference? Yes, yes it was. Remember Pippa singing in Winter's Dark Angel? Same deal, just with instruments. Monty is also the only one of the 7 who chose not to remember that he dies at 16. The twins feel rather protective of him for this reason.

Whaddya think? Love it? Hate it? General indifference? Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out.


	2. Of Touches and Premonitions

They'd kissed and made up as it were but some things about Jack still disturb the Guardians. The revelation of his true nature unnerves them. It just can't be helped. That distrust is still there, his behavior is still creepy. Especially when their adult minds can't tell if he sincerely doesn't understand...or is just screwing with them.

This happens about a year before WDA ends. No one's dead yet but the Burgess 7 are pretty much just elemental spirits trapped in faulty human shells.

Oh! For another neat chaptered story that includes some darker aspects of the Guardian of Fun, check out " Attack of Winter and Summer" by Cat Girl 1995 on ffnet (I post to both ffnet and AO3).

Here we go.

*ITGFB*

Aster would always be wary of Jack. He'd seen the boy kill a child for Pete's sake. Knew he'd murdered hundreds.

/It's not murder when they want to be released./ His conscience whispered.

Release. That's what Jack had called it. When a child calls out to him, his eyes become white and he is summoned to give them release from their mortal bodies.

By freezing them to death.

Now he would be getting helpers in the form of the Burgess believers. According to Manny, they were his...compensation for being left alone and an amnesiac for about four centuries. He was slowly making those poor kids like him. No matter how their leader tried to sugar coat it, The Man in the Moon obviously had no problem sacrificing seven innocent children with bright futures just to cater to Jack's perversions.

The way he looked at them. Talked to and of them. Touched them was sick. That cock and bull story he spun about that night with Sophie didn't fool him for a second. He might not have been depraved enough to have sex with a five year old...but he certainly enjoyed touching her bare skin. Kissing her like that was not necessary to do that ritual either. In fact, their mouths only needed to be open and close but not touching.

Spring spirits did that all the time especially during...mating.

What about the older children? Their bodies were stunted as well but still more mature than the youngest Bennett. Pippa especially looked closer to her actual age than the other having already been a tall girl. The times he has seen her without her charm, she looked like a snow angel.

With the thought of the winter spirit looming over the poor girl with that wicked gleam in his eyes, a scream of pure frustration echoed through the halls of the workshop.

"Bunny is racket necessary? Trying to get work done." North huffed poking his head out of his office.

Sighing, the pooka walked into the room and flopped bonelessly into a chair. By then, North had gone back to carving the finer details in a block of ice. Bunny couldn't tell what exactly but he could see the man switching the lenses on his desk mounted magnifying glasses as he worked.

"North, I know we told Jack that we would keep an open mind about him. But the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I am about it. Especially the things the gumby's out right lying about."

"What has he lied about?"

"The whole thing about marking them for one. In Sophie's room, he had her in his lap. Tongue kissing her. To do a binding, you need to be close but not that close mate. I can't shake the feeling that he gets off on the things he does to those kids.

"Bunny, you don't think-"

"I don't want to but dammit North that kid has some tendencies that are not normal. I don't want to think this way but no one told me bloody brain that!"

"Jack is...strange. Different yes? But he is still child. He jokes. Sometimes jokes are harsh. Seem cruel." The Spirit of Wonder set aside his project to face his friend. "Children keep secrets. We have ours no?"

"Yeah. But you and I both know sometimes, some children don't need protection from things that go bump in the night." Two great paws covered the pooka's face as he hung his head. "Cuz they ARE monsters."

*ITGFB*

Sophie was lying on the sofa sweating profusely. Her body was overheating due to a case of the flu. The 9 year old had taken her crystal off hoping for a bit more relief. It didn't help much.

"Jack..." she whimpered. In an instant, he was leaning over her. Her stress level was off the charts. Snowy locks drenched in sweat clinging to her pale skin. Her flowery pajamas soaking wet.

"Geez are you hot." The winter guardian put a hand to her forehead. Working around to the side above her head, he perched on the sofa arm.

"I feel bad." She groaned clinging to him instantly. "Mama went to get some medicine. Make me better."

"I can't heal this Soph." He sighed.

"Pwease?"

*ITGFB*

Anita felt terrible. Her illness wasn't to blame this time though. Sophie had caught a bad case of the flu, despite having had the vaccination. Jamie had offered to stay home and help nurse his sister but his mother insisted that was her job. Unfortunately, she underestimated their stock of cold and flu meds. Thinking the drive to and from the drugstore would take 20 minutes tops, she laid the sick girl out on the sofa with ice cold Pedialyte and a popsicle promising to be right back.

So, Murphy's Law just had to rear it's head. Half the town was infected and the wait was far longer than she expected. By the time she got to the counter, an hour had passed and Mr. Gladwell was down to his last few cases of over the counter medicines.

On the drive home, she cursed herself for insisting the kids allow her the illusion of a regular family that wasn't about to be separated by death in little over a year. If Jamie were home, she would feel better about the long stretch of time away from her ailing child.

"Sophie, baby I'm so sorry it took so long. I know how much you hate grape but that's the only flavor the pharmacy had left-" She walked into her living room and dropped the bags she had been carrying upon entry.

It was...strange when she first met him. The mysterious friend that was responsible for the odd changes in her children. Normal, living people don't have skin that pallor. And no amount of bleach produced that shade of white hair. Then again normal people can't freeze things solid with a touch.

But this. This was too much. The sight had rendered her speechless.

Her daughter, looking just like him, was curled up in his lap. Face pressed into his chest. His arms wrapped around her, both sound asleep. That's not the part that startled her.

Sophia Cynthia Bennett was in her underwear. Wet sleeping attire discarded in a pile on the floor. The cushion to their right sported a child sized damp spot. Draped over the back of the sofa was Jack's hoodie. Her daughter was practically naked in the lap of a bare chested teenaged(?) boy.

"Mm? Hey." Jack yawned then blinked. "Uh, you okay?"

"What are you doing?!"

"Chill out. She got so hot she almost passed out." He stretched a little, careful not to jar the girl too much. " I turned down the furnace too. Winter sprites aren't fond of hot areas to begin with but she's sick on top of it. I've had more practice controlling my core temperature and I knew skin to skin contact to be the fastest way to cool her down. I did the same thing for Cupcake and Monty last week. The twins the week before. Pippa and Jamie seem to be the best at resisting fevers and not overheating in general. So far."

"Um, well..." Anita gulped, well aware that her face was bright red by now.

"I realize this is kinda strange to you but I haven't done and have no plans to do anything to her, Jamie or the others. Despite how we're generally portrayed as cold and unfeeling, winter spirits enjoy the touch of our peers mainly because we tend to spend so much time alone. Makes us feel comfortable, safe. It's just the way we are ma'am."

That explanation seemed to satisfy her as she picked up the bags and headed for the kitchen. Still, she couldn't help looking over her shoulder. Watching him lay her face down on the dry cushions.

And trailing a single long finger down the base of her neck to the small of her back.

*ITGFB*

Yep, still doing it but now giving more insight into both why he does it and how others perceive his quirks resulting from the obsession with his frost flowers.

Love it? Hate it? General indifference? Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out.


	3. Flight Response

Second chapter in two days!

This chapter focuses mainly on Monty. We get a glimpse of his home life and the reason his father was not present at his funeral. And just how badly he sucks at using his powers. At the end, others demonstrate their abilities too.

*ITFOFB*

"Just stay calm son. This'll be over soon." Blared from a megaphone.

Well, this sucks.

Monty's day started out pretty good. The type to actually enjoy school, the first day of high school was something he looked forward to all summer. That and at his current stage of the change, temps above 65°F were murder. His mom made his favorite pumpkin pancakes for luck, just like every year before. Jake promised to take him hiking once the leaves turned colors so they could enjoy all the awesome hues along the trails.

He'd even gotten an early birthday card from his estranged father with a fifty inside. Which sorta made up for the fact that the man probably forgot exactly when his youngest from his first marriage was born. Jake had it worse. Jacob Sr had sent him a blank check to buy his first car several years ago. The attached letter wished him happy birthday, congratulated him on passing his driving test and only asked he not buy something super fast that would kill his mother on insurance.

Jacob Jr. who was graduating high school at the time went ballistic. Not only had he gotten his license two years before, Mrs. Felder (the divorce was bitter enough that she retained his name to screw with him financially...hell hath no fury but Monty pretended not to know that) helped him purchase a used car the year after. Oh and the birthday check came in June. His big brother was born in freaking March. That it was only the second contact the man had had with his eldest since the divorce made it so much worse.

That aside, he left for school feeling pretty good. Peddling on his merry way, Monty took in the sights.

"Felder!" Roared from behind him.

"Fuck."

"You got me a summer in juvie you little shit stain!"

It wasn't his fault Cryer was an idiot. Deciding he wouldn't get looked at so hard due to his condition during recovery from the bathroom explosion, he tried to boost several hundred dollars in electronics from a store by hiding it in his wheelchair.

There was ever so much wrong with his logic.

First, small town numb nuts. In which you're already a known petty thief. If a store sells security cameras, they probably have plenty actually installed and running. It's 2015, not 1915.

Second, handicapped does not equal invisibility. In fact, it makes store clerks more likely to look at you for the simple fact that you might need help while shopping. Ever heard of customer service?

Third, this was Monty's fault how exactly? He was there to return a defective DVD player. That's it. Didn't see him open the boxes. He didn't see him stuff two Galaxy Megas in his pants. Or sit on an iPad Mini 2. Once cops who talked to him all of five minutes in store realized he wasn't a witness but store surveillance was, the blond was ignored.

But no, the bully assumed somehow that he squealed. By the time he'd been sentenced, Cryer had lost the chair and was able to move around just fine. Another injustice, a summer locked up.

For fuck's sake!

The Bionic bully came tearing down the street on his brand new motor bike intent on causing the teen bodily harm. Given Monty's top speed was somewhere well below 35 MPH, he was gaining fast. In a panic, the smaller teen ducked through as many alleyways and backyards as he could. Naturally, he eventually reach a dead end.

Skidding to a stop in the rec center lot, Monty freaked out. On one side was the property fence. The other a brick building. The third side a walled off area where new construction was taking place. Directly behind him a felon in the making.

"Nowhere to run. Take your beatin like a man Felder!"

/HELP!/

/Dude, why are you screaming? School hasn't even started yet and my head already hurts./ Jamie demanded through the link.

/Wait, that's today?!/ The sleepy voices the twins cried. /Why are you panting like a dog?!/

/Cryer's gonna rearrange my face!/

"God, where are you?!" Jamie panicked out loud alarming his fellow bus riders and the driver.

/On Jeffers. The community center. I dropped my cell and I can't run forever! Hurry!/

/9. That's nowhere near any of us! 1. How long has that dick been chasing you?! 1./ Cupcake had a habit of repeating numbers in her head as she dialed them. Knowing this guy, parents would be useless until after the police arrived. She nearly knocked her mom down as she tore out the door to the bus stop.

/A...While...Can't...Keep...This-GAH!/

/Monty?/

/Dude? What happened?!/

/Say something!/

/Monny? Answer us!/ Sophie started to cry on her porch. Immediately she dashed back inside.

"Daddy turn here!" Pippa yelped suddenly.

"Sweety I'm already late since you missed the bus. This is the shortest-" Mr. Jaeger began to roll his eyes.

"Here. Now."

The man found himself unable to do anything but comply. After all, Pippa had thrown as much of her siren influence into those two words as she could. The Buick whipped a u turn on a dime to the chagrin of fellow motorists. The winter spite to be tuned it all out. Her brother was in danger.

*ITGOFB*

It wasn't odd to occasionally have to send a unit to see about stupid kids playing around areas they should leave alone in Burgess. People made less than bright decisions all the time and their town was no different.

But Tuesday September 8, 2015 was officially the strangest in Sheila Turret's 10 years at the BCFD. The scene that greeted her on that lot was...um...

Dispatch had received no less than 5 frantic phone calls about a situation near the Kepler building. All from children; one call coming from a landline and the rest from cellulars. Though one of the tower numbers had two boys yelling on the line.

In any case, Turret drove station 2's engine to the location. Already on scene were 3 squad cars, an EMT unit and several rubber neckers including a school bus full of high school kids. Everybody looking up.

Dangling like a ragdoll from the flag pole out front was a small boy. It was hard to tell but his jacket seemed to be caught in the pulley. She thought he was unusually calm until she noticed he was probably unconscious if the limp swaying in the breeze was an indicator.

At the base, another, older boy was fighting to free his shirt from the lower pulley wheels. Him she recognized as not so little Tommy Cryer, her next door neighbor. What did he do now?!

Her thoughts were cut out by the sound of a terrified child coming to and screaming his head off from 30 ft up.

How it looked: Bully beats up weaker child and hoists him up the pole but gets himself stuck as well.

What actually happened: Only Cryer could say for sure and his word carried oh so much weight. According to him, he was just talking to the kid when the wind picked up and threw them both at the pole. somehow his elbow hit Felder's face. When it was over, Felder was sky high and he was stuck.

So the wind helped give the blond a shiner, knocking him out and then decided to whisk him up there. Right. Whatever. If you're gonna lie, do it with some plausibility kid.

Once a cherry picker got him down, Felder was swarmed by his friends. His six, unique, friends. Most had come from the crowd near the bus. This included twins who looked to have gotten dressed in a rush. One had bolted out of a stylish luxury car. The last and youngest seemed to just appear from behind a cop car.

The instant she saw the girl, Shelia's mind rewinded to a conversation she had three months prior.

"Well, how was your first official year as a school marm Ro?"

Sitting in the Perky Percolator, the Turret sisters were catching up. Between their respective careers, they saw so little of one another this was a rare thing. Sure there had been phone calls but face time was important too.

"Marm? Who says that anymore? Actually I...no it's silly." Rochelle waved it off.

"What?"

"Well, kids talk about all sorts of crazy things. But this whole Burgess 7 rumor isn't so easy to ignore."

"Oh, that noise. Seven special kids, something about Jack Frost, yada yada yada. Please." Sheila chuckled into her espresso.

"It's just that Sophia Bennett, the youngest one was in my class. The school is keeping the same teachers with their students from year 3 thru 5. I asked her if she was looking forward to next year. She said it wouldn't be the same without me. When I asked if she wasn't coming back to Burgess Elementary, she just looked at me. Then with a sad smile, she said 'I'll be back, but you and Felix won't.' Isn't that strange?"

"Yeah. Maybe she thought you were moving. You did talk about Abhay's deployment from a base in Florida." She big sister shrugged.

"Maybe. Oh!" Her latte spilled a bit as she clutched her stomach. "In other news, your nephew is gonna be scoring goals of some kind with this kick he's got."

"Felix Adjit Ranadeva, the Soccer Champ. I like it. Come on, you'll miss your flight if we keep jibber jabbering."

"An hour's drive is plenty of time to catch up I guess. Won't daddy be surprised to see us when he docks?" She whispered to her belly. With an awkward shimmy, Rochelle slid out of her booth seat while her sister paid the tab.

Leaving a tip for their server Pynnie, the two left. Nothing odd or memorable about it. Unless you knew that was the last time Rochelle Turret-Ranadeva would ever set foot in her hometown.

Flight 342 crashed halfway to Orlando due to a stalled engine. No survivors.

*I'll be back, but you and Felix won't.*

Was it possible Sophia or Sophie knew? How? That's just too out there.

Right?

Given how the six of them all somehow knew one of theirs was in danger maybe...

No. That would be crazy. Shoving her thoughts aside, she began preparing the log for this interesting incident.

*ITGOFB*

Yes, I am into naming characters something meaningful when I have the chance.

Ranadeva - Traveler; real Hindu surname/male first name

Abhay- Fearless; real Hindu male name

Adjit- invicible; real Hindu male name

Felix- Luck; yeilding the ironic name meaning Lucky Invincible Traveler. His father's being Fearless Traveler.

So there we go. Remember, they all have more or less the same abilities but some are better able to control different ones. So far we know the following:

Jamie- temperature control, ice manipulation

Sophie- precognition related to death, telepathy (maintaining it without hindering her while doing other things)

Pippa- siren ability (voice), temperature control, precognition related to death

Cupcake- ice manipulation, precognition related to death

Claude and Caleb- Ice manipulation, siren ability (channeled through instruments)

Monty- the only one able to fly/control the wind while aliqve

Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out!


	4. Innocence is Relative

New York, New York...

Cupcake gets sent to live with her aunt for the summer after her father's 'accident'. Her aunt in glamorous Soho, New York . The reason? 'To straighten her out about all this goth nonsense and make her a proper lady' but really because her mother can't deal with taking care of two people. A frost spirit in the concrete jungle during a heat wave?

This has to be a cruel joke.

Fair warning, this chapter goes back to the dark tone of the previous story.

Enjoy.

*ITGOFB*

So...freaking...hot...

Cupcake groaned to herself in the back of the cab. The driver kept staring at her in the rearview when he thought she wasn't paying attention. Old enough to be her dad, this guy was totally perving on her. A 14 year old who looked like she was 10, alone on a car with a man she didn't know over 600 miles from her home.

A man unusually fair, blonde and grey eyed to be named Abdullah Namas.

Eh.

The seven of them had had about 5 years of training so far with their magic from Jack of course but also Mama, Father and, of all people, Sandy. The dream spirit's mental affinity proved an excellent teaching tool in regards to their psychic powers.

But, they obviously experimented on their own without supervision. And during a few of those sessions, they made some discoveries about how unique they each were.

For one, Monty was the least adept at getting his gifts to work on demand but the only one who could actually fly, not just levitate a few inches. He could often be found on roofs at night or scaring his brother by just appearing at ridiculously high points along a trail.

Claude and Caleb were far more in sync than the normal twin thing; it was hard for outsiders to tell where one ended and the other began. Especially with talking at the same time. Oftentimes using their abilities together without actually thinking about it.

Jamie's charm did squat to hide the signs of his change, only capping his powers the same way it did for all of them. But without it, his magic outclassed the other six. He could also plunge temperatures into the negative digits without leaving an ice trail-literally causing things to get so cold, they just shatter.

Sophie had this...shriek. Not some supersonic pulse or anything nearly as destructive. As cool as that would be. No, it pretty much short-circuited the brain. People dropped like dolls and couldn't move for hours at a time. Father said that scream disrupts the connection between body and soul causing confusion and eradicating motor function. Sandy compared it to that instant when you wake up but can't move, just over a way longer period. So naturally it didn't affect them since that connection was already nonexistent.

Pippa had the strongest siren voice. Powerful enough to affect the living, something the twins could only do with music and Jaime did only once. Her screaming COULD break glass and cause cracks in brick though using it at that magnitude was draining.

Then there was her. Her greatest strength and weakness happened to be her emotions. What'd that mean?

Well, at present, just because her father was injured, she got shipped to one of the hottest places on earth. Because he mother couldn't take care of her too? Really? The woman hadn't done so in years anyway!

In fact, what 8 year old has to drag her mom into bed after she passes out on the stairs? What 9 year-old dresses, shops and cooks for herself since mommy and daddy can't be bothered? How fair is it to be called a mistake every day of your-

"Jesus Freddy, how much freon did you put in?!" The driver shouted. Cupcake was startled from her musing to see the man shivering behind the wheel. Puffs of white vapor escaping his mouth having nothing to do with smoking. "You alright back there mamasita?"

"Oh...um..." Looking down, she noticed her hot pink and black platform mary janes were dusted with frost. So was the floorboard. Ice crystals were creeping across the back seat, onto the door she leaned against and up the window.

/Honestly!/

"It's a bit chilly but I'm okay sir." /Relax. Think about something calm.../

Her powers were most affected by her mood. Especially the more destructive attributes. What called out to her big brother that night wasn't just her psychic scream. It was also the burst of winter magic that encased the whole living room in three inches of ice and rendered her parents unconscious for a few seconds.

The whole thing started when her father snatched her back for walking away from him 'and being sassy about it' . Somehow her charm came off in the struggle. The instant she changed, he started calling her a demon child and hitting her like he was fighting a grown man. All she could think about was trying to keep her powers in check. As much as she hated her father and disliked her mother, she didn't want them dead. Not literally.

At some point, she knew her leg snapped like a twig. Her face a bloody mess. This time she could get justice the legal way, there was no chance he could cover up the injuries he was inflicting this time. No lie he could spin. All she had to do was survive the attack. Just like every other time.

Unfortunately, they both reached the same conclusion. While Cupcake slipped into a meditative state to drown everything out, Mr. DeMarco began to panic. Once the rage subsided, he looked down at his daughter or what everyone believed to be his daughter heavily wounded on the floor. How was he gonna fix this?!

The solution shocked Cupcake back to reality. To her horror, the golden handle of a letter opener protruded from her stomach. A second later, it was torn out and plunged into another spot. Again and again.

Of all the ways a power couple could have solved their unplanned child problem, they chose indifference, abuse...now murder?

No.

HELL no.

She has seen her death and this was NOT it. She passes away quietly in two years once her heart can no longer take the strain. A tired body simply shutting down. But...Richie DeMarco lives a long life. His neck bore no black band, fate's mark of imminent death.

Though she didn't have the presence of mind to recall these facts. Sheer panic overtook her. Whispering that just this once... she should fight back. All the anger, hurt and desperation snowballed from the past 14 years surged to the surface.

She awoke to the sound of her father wailing in agony. Bones crunching and twisting. A wet thud made by a bleeding body hitting the ground.

Crimson splattered all over the room. She rolled to the side, shocked to find no wounds, not even any pain. As she stood, she saw big brother bathed in red looming over the mangled body of a man. One frantically trying to escape a murderous phantom invisible to his eyes.

The rest is history as they say.

Cupcake's a big girl now though. She could take care of herself. The city scape outside the taxi looked nothing like the upscale neighborhood Auntie Rita lived in. Her attempt to unlock the door was met with an empty click from the button.

"I don't think this is the right way sir." The girl frowned, waiting to meet his gaze in the mirror.

"Don't you worry mamasita. This old gal's acting up a bit, just gonna pull into dispatch and swap 'er out." He chuckled, not even looking back as he slipped into an alley.

"Did you use that same lame ass excuse on Mina?"

SCREEECH!

"What?"

"Your dumb but not deaf. Did you promise to take Mina home from the airport too and use the same lie to bring her here?"

"I don't know how you know but you definitely ain't goin nowhere now." 'Abdullah' growled.

"She looked a lot like me. Lolita goth just older. Well older than I seem anyhow. As for how I know, she's screaming for me to get away right beside my door. Mmm but she needn't worry. The one who should be running is you. Nice choker by the way."

A few minutes passed before the rear passenger door opened. With a soft squish, Cupcake's feet touched the alley floor. The engine still idling when she walked away. Leaving bloody prints in her wake. She offered a sweet smile to the girl's ghost as she faded away into blue sparkles.

"Geez is it hot." Violet eyes slowly faded back to brown once she opened her parasol. With little effort, she took her suitcase from the trunk and set off towards the main street. True to stereotyping, not a soul bat an eyelash at the tiny, strangely dress child wandering around the lower east side. Black and long sleeves in summer? Pfft, whatever.

As far as she was concerned, that'd be fine.

It would give the spears of frozen water jutting from "Mr. Namas' " head and pinning his body to the seat enough time to melt in the heat before anyone noticed the corpse.

"Taxi!"

*ITGOFB*

Well, that got real dark, real fast. Go Cupcake, the Avenging Angel! n_n

The powers outlined gave a little insight into upcoming chapters. Some are new, but most were hinted at before in this and in WDA.

The 'choker' referred to the black band around the neck appearing as a sign someone is close to death mentioned earlier. The one her father didn't have when Jack was torturing him. Ever read Zombie Loan?

Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out.


	5. Jizo's (Totally) Bogus Journey

Posted: Counselor Wanted for Complicated Family Situation

...

Yeah. That goes about as well you'd expect.

This chapter is unique in that none of the canon characters actually show up. They are mentioned but don't appear. Once again with me being a geek, I managed to work more things you've probably never heard of into the fandom.

Onward!

*IGOFB*

Children, spirit or otherwise, tend to be complicated but overall inquisitive and caring creatures. The Burgess 7 were no different. And the Frost Flowers or Frozen Blooms (depending on whom you asked) were very concerned about the state of their family's relationships. Mother despaired over what her father became. Father and Mother still sorta weren't talking to each other. Father and Gramps were still bitter enemies. Their big brothers and sister all nurtured a deep (re:homicidal) hatred for Gramps. And Gramps of course failed epicly at relating to anybody. Including his newest grandchildren.

Did I mention nobody involved in this cluster fuck was particularly known for mental stability?

Nature and her seasons were equal parts savage and serene. Fear could be rational and beneficial or drive one to insanity. The Moon curiously (cough*ironically*cough) enough shared that portrayal among mortals of many faiths too. And the seven of them were each broken in their own way, but they had each other.

Without the weight of their mortal bodies and finally united with Jack in death, the septet found they could not not filter out the psychic discord. They were too young to have the proper shields developed just yet. They went to the one psychopomp they'd had enough contact with so far to know would be of use.

So of course when Jizo was asked for his help in the matter, he meditated long and hard. Being associated with death, he was best at consul in reunion in the afterlife. While now totally true of his new young bosses, the attachments of the mortal plane they still held put them squarely out of his realm of influence. After much thought, he made a list of Hall of Spirits members who didn't have their heads up their asses (though the list was officially labeled "Sages of Old"; the bodhisattva not one for crude language) and set out on a journey.

Thus began the saddest, most spectacular game of "So Not Fucking It" in all of creation.

Along the Nile, he sought Thoth, Egyptian scribe god touted for his wise words. Arriving at his temple, attendants ushered him to their lord's sitting room. There he sat upon his throne, a man's body topped with the regal head of an ibis bird.

"Speak child."

"Honorable Thoth, I have traveled far to seek your help. The Lord and Lady Lunanoff and family are in dire need of help repairing their relationships. I ask for your aid or perhaps direction to another who may be able to help."

Silence.

Tiny black eyes blinked at Jizo but continued to simply stare at him without a word. The lack of a human like face made his expression impossible to read. The silence lasted a rather uncomfortably long time. His sister Seshat stood beside him, drawing her leopard shawl up and turning away, coughing in the awkwardness that ensued. After perhaps 15 minutes longer, the monk took the hint and bowed respectfully once more.

"Forgive me your lordship for taking up your valuable time." Servants parted like the Red Sea as he turned to leave. Once he reached the main hall entrance, a single faint word echoed behind him.

"Forgiven."

On the opposite coast at the Gulf of Guinea he was once again treated to a single word response. This one though came before he could speak.

"No." Orunmila, West African god of wisdom to the Yoruba people turned on his heel to march back onto the dense jungle. Leaving the bewildered monk to stare at his retreating form.

The Black Hills of Colorado yielded his most terrifying encounter. He found himself running for his afterlife from a brown bear the size of a semi. Apparently the Lakota Tribes left 'antisocial as all hell' out of their great wise spirit's lore as some kind of joke. Hu Nonp chased him for miles angrily roaring the whole time.

Another embarrassing encounter occurred near Puget Sound. Kwatee, god of transformation chuckled a bit at first once he pled his case. The two stood at the entrance to his home at the bottom of a dried out river.

"Oh dear, you were serious." Amusement creeping into the tone. "You fell into this ravine and bashed your head on every rock on the way down didn't you?!" Hysterical laughter causing the proud spirit to collapse to his knees clutching his sides. Gasping for air he looked back up at the younger spirit and immediately keeled over as a fresh wave of uncontrollable booming guffaws rang out.

Red faced, Jizo left the incapacitated deity rolling on the ravine floor.

He his journey ended in upon the temple at Chichen Itza, he prayed to finally receive some assistance. The equinox when he made his famous appearance along the pyramid steps having passed, Kukulkan preferred to dwell in the forests surrounding the monument. His modest hut invisible to all but a few humans with the seeing and knowing gift.

"Ah, you have traveled far to seek me, death herald. I am flattered though curious of your motive." A gruff voice spoke. Standing in the open door way, a pale skinned old man did not look up from sweeping wood shavings into the grass outside. Jizo bowed respectfully to the albino Mayan god of wisdom...among other things. The feathers adorning his loincloth jostling with each movement of the broom.

"Honorable Kukulkan, I have come to seek your sage advice."

"Speak young one."

"The matter concerns a family and the disharmony among them. Three generations who cannot reconcile after a great tragedy befell the patriarch." His words had been carefully chosen. Both to be respectful and gain the god's interest. Once Kukulkan agreed, the Mayan would be honor bound to assist, regardless of knowing just whom he agreed to help before learning their identity. The Sages of Old may tolerate the House of Lunanoff and their reign but not exactly like them it seemed.

"Hm. Family troubles are never easy to resolve." Reptilian red eyes met the monk's deep brown. "These old bones are not what they used to be. Would you do me a favor in exchange for my advice?"

"Of course sir."

"A day's trek from here lies my original home. There grows a unique plant. It only grows there, my efforts to manipulate it's growth elsewhere yield mixed results. Go northwest, you shall know the place and plant when you see it. Upon your return, I will tell you what you must do." Without waiting for a reply, the elderly man retreated into his hut.

That seemed waaay too easy...

It was too easy. Turns out a day's trek meant only if you had feathers like the plumed serpent himself. Jizo was forced to walk to his destination, his holy gifts refusing to allow him to levitate. Or teleport.

/Buddha give me strength.../

Three days later, he arrived at the ocean. A beautiful lagoon surrounded by small sinkholes filled with shimmering waters. Why would the serpent god leave such a place? Surely he could have persuaded the Mayan people to build his temple here.

Dotted along the the shore, the most bizarre plant he'd ever seen. Black vines covered with coarse brownish fuzz crept along the soil, pulsing like a beating heart. It's leaves shimmering like opals. Grey flowers the size of his hand with petals looking like magnolias were few and far between. Strange but still beautiful.

That thought fizzled out the instant a black tendril shot out of one to snatch a bird from the air. A horror show of teeth hidden in the bloom's center savagely devoured the small brown and black falcon in seconds causing a mist of the unfortunate creature's blood to dust it. This was the medicine plant?!

His eye did not twitch like a broken camera shutter.

It did not.

"Back so soon?" Kukulkan smiled. Smoking a long pipe as he stoked the fire pit in his front yard. It was latticed with sinewy branches where fish rested to cook alongside a prickly green fruit. A nearby cooking pot contained a white mash of something sweet smelling.

"That...abomination attacked me when I disturbed it." Jizo huffed nursing his injured left hand, then dropped his head. "I was unable to retrieve it for you."

"I never asked you to." Was the dismissive reply. "My words were to go to my ancestral home and find the plant young one."

"But then you sent me upon a pointless quest? Why? To waste my time? This undertaking is my own but many depend upon my quick success."

"No. In the words of your mentor: just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame." Removing a steaming fruit from the fire, it's skin fell away with a snap of his finger. With a kind smile, he offered it to Jizo. "Even before this, your task had be arduous. You must be tired. Join me for midday meal."

Translation: Do not blame me for your assumptions you dope. You screwed up but here's something to eat anyway.

Buddhist spirit wanted to kick himself.

Of course he never asked for the plant to be brought to him. The wording implied it though 'upon your return' is not the same as 'upon your return with it'. Eager to be done with this he let his exhaustion cloud his judgment. Not one to refuse hospitality, he winced as the food touched his sore hands.

"Thank you. "

The pair ate in silence. Kukulkan consumed the fish while the vegan enjoyed the fruit. Once done, a bowl of water was presented to Jizo to drink, another to clean his hands. Once his injuries touched the cool liquid, they healed.

"The creeping death has a reputation for devouring anything that moves or sucking the blood from prey too large to be consumed whole. Unseen by humans, they seem to be a difficult problem among those who raise livestock. I try to keep them confined to the basin but sometimes i am not vigilant enough. "

"You must understand that while your motives are pure, the endeavour is quite pointless. The seasons, darkness and the Moon are beyond us all. I know each Sage you approached before me denied helping in some form or another. Once like you, young and optimistic, I believed peace could be achieved between them. The site you visited is testament to my foolhardiness. Those plants another harsh reminder. On that site once stood a grand temple where I held court to settle disputes among the world unseen. Long before the creation of my people, I attempted the same as you." Sipping what Jizo suspected to be balché from the strong fermented odor wafting from the jug, the sage god continued. "A quarrel between the Moon, the Seasons' Womb and the Darkness escalated there reducing the area to a wasteland for many cycles. The devastation reached far, killing many of the lumbering beasts that dwelled upon the earth. That treacherous plant was born from that chaos and strife."

"I see. I thank you for your time honorable Kukulkan. Forgive my disrespect." With a sigh, he stood and bowed once more before vanishing in a halo of light.

"Hmph. Kids these days." With a shrug, the albino bucked the remaining alcohol then shifted into his animal form. The green and white feathered snake coiled around the jug to enjoy the warm sun by the fire and snooze.

*ITGFB*

Poor Jizo, sorry to torture you. You're such a nice guy but everyone has their limits. Here we see more of other dieties:

Thoth and Seshat: Egyptian god and goddess of writing, record keeping and wisdom.

Orunmila: West African god of wisdom.

Hu Nonp: Wise one of the Lakota natives. Often took the form of a bear. I admit I found very little on his history, appearance or temperament.

Kwatee: God of positive change shared by several tribes in the northwestern US. Liked to correct any imbalances he saw. Satisfied with his life's work, he retired by transforming into a large rock and hiding away somewhere in the mountains.

Kukulkan: In Mayan lore similar Quetzalcoatl (whom some debate may not have been a god until the conquistadors arrived in the new world). A plumed or feathery snake god who could take the form of a wise white skinned man. The architecture of Chichen Itza allows his shadow to appear along the temple's steps on the seasonal equinoxes.

His 'ancestral home' is really Chicxulub Crater. The impact site of the asteroid scientists believe killed the dinosaurs. The appearance and behavior of the Creeping Death is meant to be similar to the Chupacabra of Mexican myth.

Balché: A strong alcoholic drink predating European invasion. Made from special bark, fermented honey and nectar from flowers.

Guanábana: a prickly tree fruit native to the Yucatan Peninsula.

Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out!


	6. Pied Piper vs The World

Here we go. Back to the creepiness you all know and love n_n

***IGFB***

"Pippa, move away from him." Tooth called.

An after Christmas party at the workshop had brought the Burgess 7 to the pole with the Guardians. Manny had told them this would be the last Christmas the children would spend together as mortals so they made this year's party a big deal. The main festivities were over and right now they were all off in various areas doing what children tend to do, the glamour off so they were in their natural forms. Jack had left an hour ago to attend to his...other duties, leaving the kids in their care. And already they'd screwed up.

Majorly. A dangerous intruder stood behind the girl.

North had no idea what he was doing here but he would not let that wicked thing harm her. By now, she was more spirit than human but the cossack had no idea if that meant she could still fall under his sway. Despite their reconciliation, North had seen enough to know Jack favored his mother in temperament when angry. And would probably murder them if one of his frost flowers were hurt on their watch.

"Wha?" She blinked, dropping the elf she had been playing with. She looked up to see the big four take battle stances. Just as a red and yellow sleeve wrapped around her waist. "Eeep!"

*IGFB*

Belief is a powerful thing. Strengthening or weakening legends, myths, etc since the beginning of time. Benevolent, malevolent or simply neutral creatures born of people's wishes, fears or rationalization populated the veil or space between the unseen. There also happened to exist a little known fact about this mysterious force that bred all sorts of bizarre phenomena. The fact that sometimes more than one version of a myth happened to be out there at the same time.

The whole needing belief to exist clause only existed for the Guardians. And only then to a certain extent. As none of them were literally created by MiM, they could lose their strength and revert to their mortal forms but not actually fade out entirely. Children's hope, dreams, memories and wonder merely gave them the ability to do their jobs. Jack was a whole other animal. Nature wasn't something that could be suddenly displaced by a new religion or a brand new version of itself. Things were born, seasons changed, things died. Nothing could alter that course; a cycle forever unbroken and gave zero shits what you thought of it.

This of course explained the Hall of Spirits as well. Many of it's members were patrons to peoples long ago lost to the sands of time but shared some similarities with the gods that came after. A glaring example would be the Roman and Greek pantheons who were literally reflections (cough*blatantcopies*cough) of one another. An somewhat confused few found themselves belonging to both. Apollo and Psyche both complained the Romans ran out of what little creativity they had when it came to them and just didn't bother. Giving them both two sets of family to deal with.

Which particularly irked Psyche because she thinks Cupid is a putz and Aphrodite is huge bitch but adores their other versions. Yes you read that right; she hated her Roman husband and Greek mother in law but not their counterparts. Some how Roman Venus had adopted Greek Eros as her son and Roman Cupid looked to Greek Aphrodite as his mother. At some point mistranslations and later decline in worshipers messed with their personas.

The Pied Piper isn't exactly the same one from the fairy tale. He's different not so much because people's belief in him changed. Rather nobody wrote down the goddamned truth about what he really was. Being angry about this and the circumstances of his birth as a spirit only served to darken his tale.

IN 1284, the town of Hamelin was overrun with rats. Desperate, the mayor hired a strange young man who claimed to be able to enchant the rats with his flute. After leading the vermin away, the piper learned he would not be paid because the mayor didn't believe he could do it in the first place. Angry the young man left only to return that night and steal the town's children away. All but a lame orphan boy. Realizing he wa the only child left they showered him with affection and learned to treasure what they had...and honor contractual obligations.

Bull-Shit.

The first part is true, he was hired to get rid of the rats. And the mayor had no intention of paying him. The old man saw an out though. Once people saw his method worked, the mayor decreed him a witch. Telling the townsfolk if he escaped, then his dark magic would harm their children. A fearful mob attacked him upon his return for payment. They slit his throat and burned his dying body at the stake, careful to make sure all evidence of his visit went up in flames as well.

That night under a new moon shedding no light, his ashes reformed in the town square. Understandably bitter about his mistreatment the Piper discovered another injustice upon his resurrection. Where his throat met the blade still a thin line from ear to ear. He was now mute.

/They used their children as an excuse to keep their gold. My life meant nothing to them./ He brooded darkly. /Well then, they can pay the price to keep what they treasure most./

The adults awoke to the sound of the Piper's flute and witnessed their children following the young man they'd killed the same as the rats had. They disappeared into the mist before anyone could catch up. Heart broken they returned home. In the morning the true horror really sank in. The Piper had lead only the children's souls into the mist. Their bodies remained in their beds, still and cold in death. The town doctor lifted their lids to confirm it, revealing they'd been burned out of their sockets. Even the orphan boy.

...really big difference in tales, huh?

A vengeful killer who stole the very essence of his victims had snared Pippa.

Who looked more annoyed than frightened.

"Ezra! Don't do that!" She whirled around to swat him. The teen behind her chuckled, a strange broken sound in his throat when he dodged her open hand. "Calm down guys. This is Ezra...um...he was supposed to meet big brother tonight." Her cheeks tinted a light blue, the frost spirit equivalent of a blush.

"Why would you want the bloody Pied Piper to meet Jack?!" Bunny growled. "What are you doing with her anyway you psycho?"

/That's not very nice./ A smooth voice echoed in their minds. /Call me old fashioned but I can't properly court her without his approval. Though the others have already threatened to eviscerate me, among other things, should I ever hurt her./

Silence.

Pippa was starting to look like a smurf, ready to die of embarrassment. The Piper, Ezra, held her close. In a way they'd only seen Jack hold her. A creepy, far too intimate way to be 'brotherly' that made Aster's fur stand on end.

"Pippa...you're dating him? Sweettooth...do you know who, what he is?" Tooth did not lower her scimitars. "I mean we know you all have a role to play in the balance but-"

"He kills children for no reason." North glared. "Whole villages gone."

"Oh. That." she replied flatly, her pale coloring abruptly returning. "We met when I went to visit my Nana in Berlin this summer. Did any of you talk to him? I mean you were wrong about Jack."

Sandy showed pictures of their previous encounters, that they had tried understand at the moon's request. It never went well.

"Oh we talk. He burn. Sleigh still have scorch marks from last chat 80 years ago." North groused.

/In my defense, 'stop heartless child killer' is not a great way to open up a dialogue. I am a vengeance spirit. Hamelin took my life over something so petty; why pay the Jew when we can make him disappear. I took the lives of their children in recompence. People who don't value their children do not deserve them, to raise them to foster such hatred. Death is too good for such sinners. Living life, knowing what they are responsible for is their punishment./ Ezra scoffed. /That goes for Nazis too./

"And those poor children-?!" Tooth gasped.

"-go to bed hearing my song and wake up in paradise. When I remove their souls, the body burns from the inside out. They feel nothing."

Not again.

Once again something they thought they understood to be evil and needing to be defeated turned out to be a force they had no real power or right to stop. Ezra was killed by a town caught up in anti-semitic fever; after helping them, only requesting his due. They used his faith as a way of vilifying him and justifying their behavior.

So...

How many times had the Guardians of Childhood let their prejudices cloud their judgement?

*IGFB*

Yeah, the title is a homage to Scott Pilgrim.

My inner history nerd got loose again. The Pied Piper tale supposedly occurred in 1284, a time when it kinda sucked to be anything but Christian in Europe. Heaven forbid anything strange happen in your area, cuz locals were sure as hell gonna blame you and 'rectify' the situation accordingly. this chapter happens in 2019, the year before the kids start to die. 80 years before that was the start of WWII.

Tell me whatcha think, reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out.


	7. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons

...for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

Firstly, yes that quote is from where you think. Believe it or not, it was the official motto of my high school, our mascot was a dragon. They let us put it on official bumper stickers, school t shirts, buttons and a big ass banner using SCA funds...to the absolute bewilderment of the historical society that funded the building's renovation who did not get it. To be fair the place was (and still is 10 years on) full of nerds taught by ubernerds.

Man I miss that school.

Anyhoo, remember how it was mentioned that Jack's "first" is the most powerful of the 7? A certain someone learns just HOW powerful and thoroughly regrets it.

*IGFB*

Jack had been lobing snowballs at children in Christ Church for a good while now. Kiwis liked their balmy Januarys but still welcomed his wintery visits late June thru August. Bitch Black had gotten his comeuppance a few years ago. In the battle the bind on his memories and magic had been shattered. It had taken 300+ years but he was finally part of a family; able to be formally acknowledged as the Winter Prince.

Now also a Guardian with a large believer base, he enjoyed seeing the world more; seeing the delight in the eyes of children who'd hoped Jack Frost would bring them a snow day.

Not relief that St. Jackson had answered their final prayer. Still now that that secret was out, nearly all his fellow Guardians distrusted and even feared him. They couldn't understand how their leader could create a spirit that killed children. At their request or not, the thought was inconceivable. Not to mention his claim to the 7 strongest believers in the world; Sophie just becoming old enough last spring. He wondered how they'd react to him being (forgive the reference) the literal Master of Death...

In any case, the snowball fight had been well underway when a wave of sheer horror and panic made him see white and clutch his head in agony.

"Jack, you ok?" The children had instantly dropped their snowballs and run to him.

"Yeah...I-I'm fine." Boy was that a lie. It felt like his core, his center, his very essence had been put through a wine press. And at the same time his brain trying to explode like a supernova. A jumble of thoughts and his rebeling magic threatened to tear him apart.

"Jack!"

A swirl of wind yielded his elder sister Mariposa. The instant she materialized, the tiny girl collapsed. Her signature blue braids were disheveled and undone, her sundress torn to ribbons, cuts and blood all over her. Her fingertips and bare toes an alarming dark color.

"Mari! Oh man!" He staggered to her. Her frame was shuddering with each breath. Teleporting was already hard but it wasn't her season anywhere in the world and as injured as she was-

"You have to get to Burgess. NOW!" She wheezed. "Abuelo is a sore loser...che. Hope he's dead. Or at least in worse shape than me." True to her flare for drama, her eyes rolled up in her head and she passed out as soon as she was done talking.

"Is Ms. Spring okay?" a little boy asked.

"She needs to rest. I'll be a back, everything's okay. Wind! Take me home!"

*IGFB*

Everything was totally NOT okay in Burgess Pennsylvania.

The temperature that Independence Day evening had plummeted from 96 to 10 degrees fahrenheit. Well, that's about when several thermometers exploded anyhow. Glass doesn't respond well to the air temp changing drastically on a dime. To be honest, most things don't.

Most had gotten indoors before the real issue started up...the north wind howling through the streets bringing dark grey clouds. The moisture in the air had frozen and clung to every surface, encasing the whole town in a layer of ice. Jack arrived to find several unfortunate people and animals dead, caught up on the fury of the unnatural storm.

What caught his attention though was his mother, older brothers, and 5 of his frost flowers standing in the center of town. The children formed a lopsided circle each with a pulsing dark blue aura. Shemu and Anise the foci of a broader ellipse further out, their weapons drawn and used to concentrate their own power that surrounded them in a sphere of red or orange light. And mother hovering 3 stories up. She clutched her mighty hammer for dear life as white lightning arced across her form. Together they formed a dome covering the entire center of town. But what they were containing shocked him most.

At the heart of the confining energy, a massive ice dragon desperate to escape. Eyes the color of the darkest night flared with each mighty roar. Every snap of its jaws, slash of its claws or swipe of its tail rattled the barrier and caused his family to grunt in pain.

"Pippa...Monty...Cupcake...Claude...Caleb...where are Sophie and Jamie?!"

"Sophia is unconscious from the attack, safe with her mortal mother. As for James, you are looking at him brother. " Shemu was nearest to him. The Summer ruler huffed his response while trying to maintain focus.

"Ya gotta be kidding me." Jack groaned.

Alas, he knew Shemu wasn't one for jokes. His desert dwelling sibling's idea of a joke was torching the crops of tyrannical regimes when they start to expand their borders. No, the signs of what happened were all too clear.

One of his flowers had felt threatened enough to call on the full might of Winter, manifesting as this beast. An action ill advised because they were too young but more seriously far too mortal to control it once unleashed. So it overwhelmed him and went on a rampage. That explained the state of their town. Now that he really looked, he could see a prone silhouette deep in the heart of the dragon.

If Mother and his siblings hadn't sensed the imbalance so soon, Jack was sure the planet would be well on it's way to a new ice age. Mariposa had been there too, the vibration of her magic close by, but had to leave to get him. The backlash of removing herself from powering the shield probably tore her up. She was nothing but resilient for porting so far away in such an awful condition.

That also explained why his magic had gone squirrelly.

Shit.

"Jack! Snow Angel, we cannot contain this much longer!" Mother Nature called from above.

"When I tell you, drop the barrier. Get ready to run!" He responded.

"Mon dieu! You want us to set that free?!" Anise cried in shock. That drew its attention and it lashed out trying to maul him. The shield trembled under the force. "Ahh! "

"I can't do anything until you do! Trust me!" Bracing himself, staff horizontal in both hands he shot forward. "Now!"

Despite their hesitation to unleash such a powerful beast, the wall of energy evaporated at that command. Immediately after, three things happened at once.

First, Jack collided with the psychic projection causing it to shatter like glass. Next the energy it had been comprised of swirled and struck Jack. As his body absorbed the power a concussive wave exploded outward, forcing all present to do their impression of ant versus wind machine. No one has time to run anywhere. Lastly, all traces of the ice and cold vanished. Leaving only the devastation behind.

"Jesus...Fucking...Christ!" Shouted the twins from somewhere near a row of uprooted trees. "What was that?!"

Jack descended to the ground with Jamie in his arms. The poor boy vomited an inhuman amount of darks sludge before going limp and unresponsive. Holding him close, the winter spirit took deep cleansing breaths. Around him, the kids were being checked on by

Mother Nature and Shemu.

"Petit frere? Vous allez bien?" Anise ventured. He got a bit worried when there was no reply.

"Snow Angel? Are either of you hurt?" The nature goddess, done checking on the children, walked up and touched his shoulder. "Oh!"

Her winter prince looked...dead. His skin was now impossibly pale, gone was the lively glow of his cheeks. His veins visible under his skin resembled spider webs. His lips deep purple, faint shadows across his eyelids. He looked like...like...

...a frozen corpse.

"No. We're just fine." He looked at her with black eyes. Sclera and all. "Unlike someone currently licking his wounds. It just takes a while to reign it all in."

Once the frozen water was gone, black sand could clearly be seen littering the area. It dusted the ground leaving a trail to a dark area by a cluster of shops. The closer to the shady spot, the more the sand resembled inky black blood.

Pitch tried to crawl away once he'd thawed out. A a little hard to do with the lower half of your body gone. That's the price for stupidity. Convinced the best way to hurt Jack was to hurt his believers, the Nightmare King has amassed just enough power to attack the Bennett home while the kids set up for a cookout. Obviously not expecting to fight 7 fledging frost elementals, the Nightmare King went after Anita (who could not see him) and Sophie (who had very little ability to draw her magic being newly changed a few months ago) instead. Both were knocked out easily. About then, Jamie lost it encasing himself in uncontrolled winter magic. And immediately biting Pitch in half. Which explains all the black crud he just yakked up.

"Father, how could you?" Seraphina sighed.

"Amazing. You're concerned about those with no relation to you and only gaze at your flesh and blood with contempt." He drawled, willing the shadows to reform his broken body.

"They are of your blood too. Do you really think Manny could create a season without my help? He rose Jack but I gave him the dominion over winter I could not wield. My power as well as the Moon's flows in his veins." She glared.

"Really Sera, nothing flows in his veins; no heartbeat to pump blood. I thought I taught you not to play with dead things."

"At least he isn't dead inside. Excuse me, once again I must clean up YOUR mess." She snarled, eyes flashing white. A pointed gold heel may or may not have slammed into his face as she stormed past him. Would certainly explain the print down the center of it tough.

It would take some doing but Burgess could be restored to normal. Buildings were easy to restore, lives a bit trickier. Still, by sunrise it would all seem a midsummer night's dream. Sanderson owed her favor anyhow. Even if he didn't, the dream spirit probably wouldn't say no.

*IGFB*

Yep, more of their messed up family relationships. This takes place a few months after Jack marks Sophie but I also worked in how synched the twins are by this point too. Also, isn't it a bit scary that all of that is raging inside Jack at any given moment? This chapter highlights just how powerful he, and by extension all the seasons and their Mother truly are to be able to contain that.

New Eye Color Chart:

Blue-Normal

white- Saint of Suicide

Violet- Vengeful/Psychotic (pretty much the same emotion with this family...)

Pure Black- True power of winter is awake

Oh, and Kiwi is slang for a New Zealand national. One of it's larger cities is where Jack is at the start of the chapter.

Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out!


	8. Swear Not by the Moon

Happy 2015. I present to you something I'm fast becoming known for...

So, how did the Burgess Seven come to be Jack's Frost Flowers? How was that decision made? Moreover, how did Manny choose Jack over all the other children who died that day the world over? Jack learns not only of his origins but a things not even the Guardians know about their beloved monarch.

Warnings added: Religious references/discussion (also known as Light/Dark Cour Politics), borderline psycho/sociopathic behavior, things to make you go 'well, huh'.

*GOFB*

Swear Not by the Moon, the Inconstant Moon...

Polar Night.

The term is somewhat misleading. Most who experience the phenomena do not have complete darkness the entire time...the sun just doesn't rise high enough over the horizon (or surrounding mountains) to give off more than a few very weak rays for long periods of the year.

Except for the Geographic North and Geographic South Poles. The former of which happens to be where a very...interesting conversation takes place one frigid day/night in early March.

Jack always enjoyed the stillness of night. Even more when he could see the aurora borealis. Though it miffed him that each time green played more heavily in the display with no other color, the lights weren't natural but a signal.

He'd been startled to say the least. He'd arrived at 90 degrees N 0 degrees W to be alone. Yeah alone. Contrary to popular belief, Santoff Claussen, the village more commonly known for Santa's Workshop, wasn't at the north pole; magically hidden from anything the outside could hope to detect it with as it was. Geographic or Magnetic. Rather betwixt the two clusters northernmost Russian islands known as Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya. While really being cloaked by magic, for reference sake, it's too far north for anyone with any sense self preservation to dare venture yet still well over 1000 miles SOUTH of this point. So of course the snow spirit assumed he wouldn't be seeing another soul on the ice.

Manny stood with his son, the full moon illuminating their surroundings, making the snow glisten like diamonds. Upon this endless frozen ice sheet, the two remained relatively silent. Facing the same vague direction, south towards Canada. He had come at his child's request shortly after his induction to the Guardians. Not any sort of verbal request. More like an intuition, a strong feeling. Knowing once he came, he would have to answer a questions burning in the boy's being for nearly 4 centuries.

The bell finally tolled.

"Why?" Spoken so low, if not for the utter stillness around them, he would not have heard it.

Ah. The 400 pound yeti in the room. Such a simple question with such an immensely complicated answer. Well, honesty is the best policy and all that.

"Do you remember, when I spoke to you that night?"

"Yeah. I can count the words on one hand." Manny didn't have to look to his left to know there was a scowl on the boy's face. "And that's all you ever said to me. Until now."

"I'd given up hope you heard the last two within hours of your rebirth. What I said to you was 'Your name is Jack Frost, my son.' "

"Wha?"

"You are my child in every sense of the word."

"Then why did you abandon me?! I had no clue what my past was but I sure as shit figured out parents are supposed to love and protect their kid-!"

The angry rant became muffled by silken fabric. The immortal teen stiffened in shock as strong arms embraced him fiercely. A strange choking noise caught his attention and he pushed back to look up at the man in worry.

All sense of decorum was lost. Tsar Lunanoff, the leader of the group he just joined...the man who made him...was crying.

"I am so sorry child. I believed I had everything planned out. Your birth, your mortal life, it's end. All of it I observed with a heavy heart. As a father unable to properly be part of their child's life it was torture for me. I planned to finally meet you, hold you like this that night. But once you were revived, I was too weak to even tell you who you are. Travel to Earth was out of the question. 17 years of watching you call another man your sire. Then my chance to finally look you in the eye, welcome you into your true family, evaporated into nothing. My foolish arrogance cost you so much."

"I was human before this. My mother and father were settlers. I remember that."

"You remember the people who raised you as their own. While Mary Overland gave birth to you, Jackson Overland Sr. gave you his name, he only fathered Emma."

And Jack's brain ground to a halt.

No. No. No.

"I will never lie to you Jack, I swear it. Even if the truth you seek is something I wish not to share. Understand that the man I was then is not the same person that stands before you." Tsar Lunanoff took a deep breath. "The story I tell you now will be...harsh. But do not rush off before I am done. Can you promise me that? Swear it?"

For a long time, he looked at the man. Part of him rejoiced at finally having answers. No more wondering. No more doubt. Surely such a powerful person had a good reason for making him this way. But...why would he have Jack swear not to leave? From what he knew of the magical world such a declaration was binding. If he said yes, he could not leave the area until the terms of the agreement were met. Until the story was told in full.

Was the truth that awful? How could this man be his father? What did he mean by watching over his mortal life.

Curiosity out weighed trepidation of course.

"I swear."

"As I swear to answer you truthfully."

The air around the pair rippled with a silvery light and a soft whoosh marked a wide circle about them.

"Now then. When your mother first arrived in the new world, she was married to another man. His name is unimportant. What is important is the was not the man she thought he was. Treated her like as slave, as property not as a wife. The marriage had been one of convenience in order to secure his passage to the Pennsylvania. Unfortunately her parents did not survive contracting smallpox on the voyage, leaving her all alone with him. It was speculated that he brought her over on a separate ship to hide the fact that he ordered her family murdered. With them dead, he, not their daughter would inherit the their textile company once established in the colonies.

However, the joke was on him. The Walshes married their daughter off to whom they believed was a good man to make sure she was taken care of. Their company had been bought out by a larger rival and the money from the sale would be gone within a few years. By the time he learned of this, he was already stuck there with a worthless heiress. Naturally he turned his rage to her."

Jack continued to stare but said nothing as the story continued.

"Mary prayed to her god. Believing this was some sort of punishment. If she could earn his favor again, perhaps he would save her from this fate. And here I confess to you a sad truth about those mortals worship- they are subject to the same vices, flaws and other traits of their devotees. Few are truly omnipotent and even fewer are omnipresent. Even then it is recognized that pain and suffering are natural parts of the human condition. Some things for a person are planned down to the finest detail. Others happen because they happen, not due to someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Much more pressing issues faced the Judeo-Christian god at the time; one woman's pleas for help were drowned by the clash of religious cultures occurring at the time. The Light Court wanted a way to tame the Dark Court which was using the conflicts to subvert them. I wanted to ease my dear wife's suffering and frustration. Mary Westenhouse happened to be a means to that end.

I had no part in his death. Rather, a member of the Dark Court caused him to develop pnuemonia. I did however take advantage of a her distraught state. She awoke the next day believing it had been a fevered dream. Her dead husband returning from the grave to beg her forgiveness and spend on final night with her. Shortly after she met the sheppard Jackson Overland and the two wed after a brief courtship. No one questioned your arrival seven months later."

"You...slept with my mother? My HUMAN mother. That's...for crying out loud how did that happen?! Just...GAH!" He flailed his arms. "You didn't even have the decency to be yourself at the time either. You got a pardon for the asshole that made her life hell so you could have your way with her in her grief. That is just-"

"Despicable. I know. And at the time I did not care. For what I wished, winter's avatar would have to have been born of magic first. You cannot get blood from a stone."

"So you planned for me to die too then."

"...Yes I did. And one good turn deserves another as they say. In my haste, I overlooked something important. That even with the Light Court's blessing, I would be too weak to act for against them for some time. Something they knew well. Your sacrifice for Emma let me revive you but the price was silence for a very long time. I believe they intended for you to go insane from the magics that flooded your system without guidance. And you would fall into the Dark Court's sway, forsaking all reason. And our house could not claim complete dominion over nature."

And there it was. So his entire life had been a lie. And his afterlife the result of a poorly thought out scheme give his wife a gift and to appease a bunch of assholes all in one go . Assholes who decided to stab him in the back and use his desperation to weaken his control for several centuries. And hope Jack lost his mind in the process.

Jack couldn't see it but he felt his eyes flash. A flood of rage crashed over him and for just a brief moment, his aura flared. With just a few cleansing breaths, he managed to reign it all in.

"Alright. That I get. You wanted to make mother happy but you messed up your calculations...by a lot. And it came back to bite you in the backside. So what of the Burgess kids? I want to know why they have to die. I've seen their violent ends."

"Jack...you of all beings should know death comes to every mortal. Such is the way things have always been-"

"Bullshit." The frozen boy barked. "7 children fated to die all from one small town. All within weeks of each other. All after becoming my first believers. All one year sooner than the age I sacrificed my life for Emma's. That is no coincidence father. That's a set up."

"It's complicated. The Court believes they are a risk. Collectively, they do not have enough power to override my decrees anymore but the fallout from a revolt would be somewhat messy at this time. I have not returned to my full power just yet my son." Manny sighed.

"What are those old coots afraid of?"

"To be honest? Your mother. Your siblings. Myself. You. We have grown in number since our arrival here and stolen away much of their coveted positions. The children of Burgess have demonstrated a strong affinity for your magics in particular Jack and they are wary. We are invaders, becoming stronger than they care for. Our presence is tolerated at best, reviled at worst."

"So the're scared of a bunch of children. That sounds like a personal problem for them." The boy snorted. His skin already pale, now becoming nearly translucent. Dark veins blooming across the porcelain surface. Frost now dusting his clothing , staff and hair, lips a hypothermic bluish purple. "Not a justification for murdering 7 innocent kids. I don't care what they think or want. Don't care what grudge they have against you. The Burgess 7 are mine. Yahweh, Jehovah and Bondye want them removed from the mortal coil? Fine. But their souls belong to me and I'll be damned if another god can claim them. Those three can kiss my ass on that one."

"What you are asking is a lot."

"So was denying Jehovah my soul."

"That was different. An agreement was reached for that to occur."

"In which they agreed for an avatar of Winter to be born. One to rule Death itself." A cruel smile graced his lips. "Something you already sorted out, didn't you."

"Of course. It's time the spirits of old know we aren't trying to steal their thunder. But...attempts to get over on us will not be tolerated either. I can admit when I am wrong. Them? Not so much."

"Gotta say old man, you're a lot less squeaky clean than I thought you would be."

"Yes well you'll soon learn your cunning, strength and intelligence come from both sides of the family earnestly. You are my son in every sense and Mother Nature's in every sense that counts." Lunanoff clasped his hands behind his back.

"So you really don't have any objections to what I just said then do you?" Pitch black eyes greeted the Man in the Moon's delighted gaze. "I appreciate it but don't think that makes everything square between us just yet."

"No, things like that will take time I understand. Nevertheless it's the least I could do for all the pain I've caused you. And I've always wanted more children." He chuckled. "No matter what you decide, those 7 will not live to adulthood. The Hall of Spirits won't allow it. But not all agree. Still, I've given my word that I will not hinder the majority rule. "

"Well. They should have learned by now not to make deals with the devil then, hm?" Frost looked up at the stars, grinning ear to ear. "Ice can burn something aweful too."

*GOFB*

Yup.

See? Jack inherited his interesting persona from somewhere.

MiM isn't the exactly a saint. Remember, he swore to Jack he would never lie to him. He gave the Guardian no such vow. They merely have faith in his intentions. Makes you wonder whatelse he hasn't told them doesn't it?

Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out!


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